My last adventure

by Christina Winkler (Ireland)

Making a local connection Iceland

I would have never thought I would end up in Iceland, but that’s exactly what happened. As part of my college degree, I found a job, working as a naturalist on a whale-watching boat for 5 months last summer. You may think now: ‘What has that to do with travel?’. And my answer is this: it was the biggest adventure I had being on my own so far. And that’s what travel is all about, or not? Meeting new people, new places and facing new adventures. My passion are whales. Going out on the boat every day and seeing whales (almost) every day, was just the best thing ever. Working 12 hours and more on a regular base is hard, but at the same time it is so rewarding to see those beautiful animals and watch in ‘Aww’. And even though it didn’t get boring once, because you can never take enough pictures of jumping dolphins, to see passengers faces enlightened with cheer and happiness is worth it tenfold. For many of our visitors it is a once-in-lifetime encounter and it made me realize, how fortunate I was that summer (and hopefully will be in the future again, once I am finished with college for good). But enough about work, what about the rest of the country. Iceland is not just made of ice, but it has everything an adventurous soul is graving for: glaciers, snow topped mountains, hot springs in the middle of nowhere, volcanoes, never ending lava fields, uncountable waterfalls, crystal clear lakes, exploding geysers and the most colorful desert mountains you can imagine. Depending on the season, you might or might not be able to go snowboarding and skiing. But main tourism season is during the summer, with not much snow around. And if you were hoping to see the Northern lights in the summer, then you have also chosen the wrong season. I was lucky to get a glimpse once in April, but it was literally one of the last days we could see the Aurora in Reykjavik. You are better off to come visit for a week or two during either spring or autumn. Or just stay for a whole year all together 😃 But after all its beauty, it is still one of the most expensive places in the world. So you better be prepared to spend all your savings and max out your credit card to the limit. But again, it is totally worth it. Because there are not many countries, that are still so little populated and where you can feel and experience the roughness and wildness of nature without any limits, as you can in Iceland. Besides all the natural beauties, there is also all that wildlife. While travelling through all those landscapes (and spending all my savings), I got to see arctic fox pups (the only native land mammal) and millions of birds. Of course you will see Northern fulmars and Atlantic puffins out at sea. But seeing the fulmar chicks on the cliffs of Iceland’s second highest waterfall, which is just a 30 minutes car ride (and 1 hour hike) from the northern most capital city in the world, was simply unforgettable. And mentioning the puffins, of course I had to totally fall in love with those cute birds, seeing them hopping around on the cliffs of the Westfjords, only a meter away from me. Not native to Iceland either, but part of the countries history and traditions, are their horses (Never call them ponies!). To be seen every where along the long and lonely roads, they are not just super cute, but it is just the best to spend a day on their backs and explore the country from a slightly different angle. While travelling and working, I was fortunate enough to meet so many fantastic people on the way, made new friends, got to see how people proudly live their traditions and at the same time adapt to changes happening all around them. So it just happened that I fell in love with Iceland. And I hope you will too.